The news comes days after the streaming platform reported a rise in takedowns under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
In a thread on Twitter, the Twitch Support account said: “First, we will begin work to extend our use of Audible Magic to identify existing clips that may contain copyrighted music and delete them for you without penalty.
“Over the coming months, this will cover newly created clips as well.”
✏️ We have an update and more information about what we’re doing, what you can do, and what you should know in the wake of last week’s unexpected surge in DMCA takedown requests. 👇
— Twitch Support (@TwitchSupport) June 11, 2020
Audible Magic, which Twitch first went into partnership with in 2014, checks videos on demand (VODs) for copyrighted music and mutes the portion of a video which contains the flagged content.
“Second, we are building the ability to delete all of the clips on your channel more easily – stay tuned for an update in a few weeks when that’s ready,” they added.
The option to turn off the creation of new clips is already available in Channel Settings.
Twitch went on to tweet that “there is a lot of misinformation circulating” about how creators can protect their channel, saying that “while deleting or disabling clips can help”, streamers still risk takedown requests if they use music to which they don’t have the rights.
“This applies even if you’re just playing it in the background for a few seconds – it is entirely within the right holder’s discretion if and when to issue takedown notifications.
“We value the work of songwriters, musicians and other creative artists.
“As a company committed to supporting creators, we respect, and ask our users to respect, the intellectual property of those who make music and those who own or control music rights,” the thread reads.
More information about music usage on Twitch can be found in the platform’s Community Guidelines.
Want More?
Read our initial report on the rise in DMCA takedown requests on Twitch, including reaction from streamers, or learn more about YouTube launching channel customisation in YouTube Studio.
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